Walking along a mountain slope - Professor Dinh Xuan Lam and the anti-colonial movement in Vietnam

His first significant work was the bookHistory of Vietnam during the period 1897 - 1914(co-authored) (Construction Publishing House, Hanoi, 1957). The next book began to reveal a historical style of Dinh Xuan Lam, which was the study of historical figures.Hoang Hoa Tham and the Yen The peasant movement(co-authored) (Culture Publishing House, Hanoi, 1958). It should also be added that, besides focusing on studying figures and history, the young historian Dinh Xuan Lam was one of Professor Tran Van Giau's closest and most intimate students – I would like to add that he was "the most direct," because in the very first years of participating in building this major at Hanoi University, "Uncle Lam," as Professor Giau affectionately called him, was the one who directly assisted the Professor in building the curriculum and lesson plans for the subject and, of course, in publishing the first historical works of the major.

Professor, People's Teacher Dinh Xuan Lam - a leading expert in modern and contemporary history/Photo: Thanh Long

In those early works, Dinh Xuan Lam also revealed another strength, quite rare among historians at that time: the combination of historical research and literature.Poetry and prose by Nguyen Quang Bich(co-authored) (Culture Publishing House, Hanoi, 1962) is a first sign. Later, the author of this introduction found it interesting that fate had arranged something similar to his own relationship with Professor Giau: throughout the many years working in the Department of Modern and Contemporary Vietnamese History, Faculty of History, Hanoi University, including the early years of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities (from 1995), I also benefited from Professor Lam's invaluable experience, and in the way, as he often told me, it was Professor Giau's method of passing on his expertise...

What's even more interesting is that in the 1980s and 1990s, during many training and scientific research activities within our field, Professor Lam repeatedly encouraged me, saying, "Even if you miss out on a literary career, pass it on to your writing in history." This has been a driving force and an obsession for me almost throughout my writing career...

He was one of the legendary "four pillars" of the History Department (along with Professor Phan Huy Le, Professor Ha Van Tan, and the late Professor Tran Quoc Vuong).Photo: Jackie Chan

But perhaps Professor Lam's earliest works that firmly established his position in the professional field were his participation in and co-authorship of the textbook series.Modern history of VietnamInitiated and edited by Professor Tran Van Giau, this textbook series embodies its true meaning. Printed in large format, each volume is not excessively thick, yet from its structure to its content and style, it meets the standards for generations of teachers and, naturally, students and researchers. It should be reiterated that in this series, in Volume 1,Modern history of Vietnam(Education Publishing House, Hanoi, 1959) immediately below the author Tran Van Giau are Dinh Xuan Lam and Nguyen Van Su. In volume 2 (1961), the position of author Dinh Xuan Lam remains the same, after Nguyen Van Su, Dang Huy Van is added. In volumes 3 (1961) and 4 (1963), the position of author Dinh Xuan Lam remains unchanged, only the third author in volume 4 changes, with the appearance of a new writer, Kieu Xuan Ba…

Later, Dinh Xuan Lam also participated in writing many other modern and contemporary Vietnamese histories, such as his most recent book:History of Vietnam(Volume 3, Vietnam Education Publishing House, 2012) (Editor: Dinh Xuan Lam).

Professor Dinh Xuan Lam and Professor Vu Duong Ninh at Me Tri Hall in 2003 / Photo: Bui Tuan

When interviewed about Professor Tran Van Giau's educational career, even though our generation were "students of students" of the Professor, I remarked: "The MinistryModern history of Vietnam"Edited by Professor Giàu with key contributors like Đinh Xuân Lâm, this book remains a model, highly pedagogical, and fundamental work. Importantly, the system of documents and perspectives in this history book dominated the field of modern and contemporary Vietnamese history for a very long time." In reiterating this observation, we only wish to further affirm that Đinh Xuân Lâm's writing, from the very beginning of his career, had a favorable "launching pad." Later, his major perspectives on modern Vietnamese history, from periodization to the main contents of each stage, had a profound influence on our generation in teaching and research, even though times, academics, and approaches have changed significantly in recent decades.

Representatives from the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, the University's Alumni Association, the History Department, and many generations of students came to celebrate Professor Dinh Xuan Lam's 90th birthday at his home in May 2015.

From the 1960s and 70s, the catchphrase and pride of the "General History Department" – "Lam - Le - Tan - Vuong" – certainly applies to Professor Lam, as discussed in our analysis above. His profound knowledge and captivating teaching style have undoubtedly left a deep mark on generations across educational institutions and specialized research institutes nationwide, and perhaps even abroad, as Professor Lam was one of the first to be appointed as a visiting professor at universities in Paris (France), Madagascar (Africa), and other locations.

It seems that during those years of intense and continuous professional activity as a leading expert in modern and contemporary history, with his vast accumulated knowledge, Professor Dinh Xuan Lam did not have time to reflect on his own works. Instead, he continued to co-author a series of books that are still remembered by the professional community:From Ba Dinh to Hung Linh(Thanh Hoa Publishing House, 1985)Thanh Hoa City(Thanh Hoa, 1990)Ho Chi Minh's thought on building Vietnamese culture(National Political Publishing House, Hanoi, 1998);Contributing to the understanding of Ho Chi Minh's life and thought.(National Political Publishing House, Hanoi, 2005);Hanoi during the national liberation movement in the late 19th century. But early 20th century(Hanoi Publishing House, Hanoi, 2010);The revolutionary patriotic movement of the early 20th century: Figures and events(Labor Publishing House, Hanoi, 2012)… Regardless, returning to the pages of history that my teacher dedicated his entire life to researching is, in many respects, still very necessary...